Ethiopia Population
Ethiopia had an estimated population of 135,472,051 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 10th most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 1.65% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +2.55% a year.
Ethiopia at a glance
How Ethiopia's population is changing
Ethiopia's population is growing fast: +2.55% a year, which works out to about +3,455,994 people per year, or +9,462 a day. Births (31.5 per 1,000) and deaths (5.9 per 1,000) alone would give +2.56% a year; net migration adds about 24,054 people a year (+0.02%). Roughly one in every 61 people on Earth lives in Ethiopia.
Population of Ethiopia since 1960
In 1960, Ethiopia had 21,376,693 people. By 2025 that was 135,472,051 — 6.3× larger. The fastest growth came between 1986 and 1996, when the population rose by 45%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 21,376,693 | — |
| 1970 | 27,829,128 | +30.2% |
| 1980 | 34,428,514 | +23.7% |
| 1990 | 47,609,755 | +38.3% |
| 2000 | 67,411,494 | +41.6% |
| 2010 | 90,538,514 | +34.3% |
| 2020 | 118,917,671 | +31.3% |
| 2025 | 135,472,051 | +13.9% |
Ethiopia from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Ethiopia at about 12,032,589 people in 1800; the UN estimates 135,472,048 in 2025 (11× 1800) and projects 367,289,600 for 2100 in its medium scenario. That is still 171% growth over the rest of this century.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 12,032,589 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 18,434,000 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 17,719,308 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 17,670,418 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 67,411,496 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 135,472,048 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 225,021,870 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 309,057,813 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 367,289,600 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Ethiopia
10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 135,472,051. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Addis Ababa | 6,705,705 | UN urban centre | 4.95% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | Bahir Dar | 498,735 | UN urban centre | 0.37% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 3 | Dire Dawa | 483,674 | UN urban centre | 0.36% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 4 | Nazrēt | 456,900 | GeoNames settlement | 0.34% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 5 | Shashamane | 452,945 | UN urban centre | 0.33% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 6 | Warder | 450,400 | GeoNames settlement | 0.33% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 7 | Bishoftu | 442,776 | UN urban centre | 0.33% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 8 | Jijiga | 422,225 | UN urban centre | 0.31% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 9 | Awasa | 422,200 | GeoNames settlement | 0.31% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 10 | Gonder | 392,767 | UN urban centre | 0.29% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
How Ethiopia compares
Ethiopia has almost the same population as Mexico (131,946,900).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Ethiopia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #8 |  Bangladesh | 175,686,899 | +30% | compare → |
| #9 |  Russia | 143,513,328 | +6% | compare → |
| #11 |  Mexico | 131,946,900 | −3% | compare → |
| #12 |  Japan | 123,366,734 | −9% | compare → |
Compare Ethiopia with any country →
Same region (Sub-Saharan Africa): Nigeria, DR Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya, Sudan.
Explore around Ethiopia
Land neighbours (6)
Kenya 57,532,493 · 2.4× smaller · compare
Sudan 51,662,147 · 2.6× smaller · compare
Somalia 19,654,739 · 6.9× smaller · compare
South Sudan 12,188,788 · 11.1× smaller · compare
Eritrea 3,607,003 · 37.6× smaller · compare
Djibouti 1,184,076 · 114.4× smaller · compare
Ethiopia's 6 neighbours together hold 145,829,246 people — 1.1× Ethiopia's population. The most populous is Kenya (57,532,493).
In its region
Ethiopia is the 2nd most populous of the 48 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, holding 10.3% of the region's 1,321,654,217 people.
Rankings featuring Ethiopia
Cities
Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar, Dire Dawa, Nazrēt, Shashamane, Warder, Bishoftu, Jijiga — all Ethiopia's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Ethiopia when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
What changed during your lifetime?
Turn these figures into a private, five-scene personal world story.
Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.